Dolly Parton’s dedication to literacy could have a lasting and expanded legacy in New Hampshire, thanks to a bipartisan effort underway to make Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library accessible to participating families statewide.
The Imagination Library gives age-appropriate books each month to children from birth through age five. Currently, there are only a few partnering programs in the Granite State, including in Barrington, Durham, Nashua, and the North Country.
After the music legend’s death Wednesday, the program has received a ton of attention, so much so that their website experienced technical delays due to the high traffic.
On Thursday, state Sens. Darryl Abbas, R-Salem, Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, and Suzanne Prentiss, D-Lebanon, announced they planned to file legislation for the “Imagination Library Act.”
Their plan would use state funds, administered through the state Department of Education, to help provide the free books to participating families. According to their announcement, their proposal would cost up to $750,000 per year once it is fully expanded over the next five years.
They plan to file the proposed legislation in September.
“This mythical, magical human”
The Imagination Library has already made an impact in New Hampshire for participating communities and families.
Courtney Vashaw, the director of the Whitefield Public Library, coordinates the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for the North Country. Since 2022, they’ve provided books for almost 1,000 children.
Within minutes of Parton’s death, Vashaw received three text messages. “We all just sort of felt like this was an impossibility,” she said Thursday, “that she was this mythical, magical human that mortality just shouldn’t have been a part of. It was really kind of a heart-wrenching moment. She’s just such an iconic humanitarian, you know.”
Vashaw says the Dolly Parton Imagination Library she runs also received two donations since news of her death.
Within hours of Parton’s death, Vashaw says she received a letter from the Imagination Library Foundation.
“We got a letter from the Imagination Library Foundation that very clearly indicated that they had been planning for this for a long time, that the organization is very strong. It’s healthy,” Vashaw said. “Dolly had a lifelong commitment to the organization, and she wanted that to live well beyond her.”
